the aid of those chivalrous youths, drawn in a
weak and temporarily voiceless condition to safety on the bank.

There for some time I was content to remain, permitting the water I had
inadvertently swallowed to pour forth from my interior, the lads
continuing to frolic about in the treacherous lake until I had entirely
recovered. Thus some time passed. Finally, summoning them to me I stated
that the first swimming lesson was herewith suspended until a more
suitable moment, and gave the command for catching a number of finny
beauties for our evening meal. This, however, was rendered impossible by
reason of our having no fish-hooks or other suitable appurtenances for
catching them. Really, it would seem that for the simplest outing an
almost incalculable number and variety of accessories are needful!

In view of this situation I promptly devised an altered plan of
campaign. Inwardly I had already gained my own consent to abandon the
project of building any lean-forwards for our use on this particular
occasion. I now split our strength into parties of equal number and,
detailing Masters Ferguson and Horrigan to aid me in constructing
woodmen's couches, I assigned to Masters Pope, E. Smith and H. Smith the
task of faring forth into the wilderness that encompassed us to seek the
wild fruit and to kill, as painlessly as possible, sufficient wild game
for our next repast.

At the same time I warned them, above all things, to avoid destroying
the feathered songsters. Under other circumstances I would have decried
slaughtering any living creatures whatsoever; but in the existing
emergency a certain amount of carnage appeared inevitable, for, as I
said to them: "Must we not eat? Shall we not obey Nature's first law?"

To bring about this consummation I intrusted to Master Pope my bow and
sheath of arrows, instructing him verbally, so far as I remembered it,
in the knowledge of using these weapons, as contained in the manual on
that subject, "Archery in All Its Branches."

With merry cries--for the spirits of these brave lads seemed
unquenchable--the three huntsmen moved off through the trees; and at
once their forms were lost to sight, while I gave myself over to
superintending the labours of my chosen aides in the gathering of boughs
of the fragrant evergreen, and in arranging this material at equidistant
intervals about our camp-fire site so as to form six springy couches. As
completed, these couches lacked that luxurious a